Fiat Linea Colors

Expert Test Drive Review

The Fiat Linea has always been a fun to drive car and the current model gets upmarket interiors and a healthy equipment list that makes it quite a good value for money offering. The interiors get a dual tone theme with a Fiat 500 like contrast mid section that houses circular chrome ringed air vents, the piano black housing for the middle air vents also look nice while the shiny black stereo compliments the air vent housing above. The Emotion variant also gets leather upholstery to give the car a premium appeal.

Under the hood, the new Fiat Linea will continue to be powered by a turbocharged 1.4 litre petrol engine developing 116PS of power @ 6,000 rpm and 207Nm of torque @ 4,500 rpm, a naturally aspirated version of the 1.4 litre petrol engine developing 90PS of power @ 6,000 rpm and 115Nm of torque at 4,500 rpm while the 1.3 litre turbo diesel engine develops 93PS of power @ 4,000 rpm and 209Nm of torque @ 2,000 rpm.

All three engines are mated to five-speed gearboxes and like earlier, there is no automatic variant for the Linea.

The interiors of the Fiat Linea are rather well finished with a dual tone contrast theme, piano black plastics, chrome inserts and leather upsholstery that lend it an upmarket appeal. The Fiat Linea is a well equipped car too with even the base models being loaded with features such as automatic head lamps and wipers, fuel computer, stereo, disc brakes all around and anti-lock brakes amongst others.

What we likeWell appointed interior

What we don't likeThe Odd rough edge is present

The Fiat Linea gets a healthy dose of chrome and other design elements that lend its gentle curves plenty of visual breaks. That said, the looks are not up tp everyone's tastes.

What we likeUnique profile

What we don't likeLooks not to everyone's taste

The Fiat Linea comes with a proven set of engines that strike a good balance between performance and efficiency

What we likeGood power delivery and rev happy engine

What we don't likePetrol engine could have been more efficient

Petrol Mileage14.9 kmpl

Diesel Mileage20.4 kmpl

The Fiat Linea T-Jet has an ARAI claimed fuel efficiency figure of 14.9 km/l while the diesel Fiat Linea has an ARAI claimed fuel efficiency figure of 20.4 km/l.

Linea - which translates into Line in English, is FIAT India's latest offering for a market in quite a while. While everything that can go wrong has gone wrong for FIAT until date... this might just be the car that brings back everything in line (pun unintended)) for Fiat.
About the car, well one look at it on the rear page of this months economic times had my heart fluttering, the Maroon car on the page ( I learnt later that its - Flamenco Red &amp; not Maroon ) looked sleek, Upmarket, Expensive and LOOOONGGGG...
Well, so I set off to test drive it and find out just how long it was, and shiver me timbers - the Linea is longer than the Innova... yes the Toyota Innova. It was unbelievable.
The Linea comes with 2 mills, one the FIRE Petrol &amp; the Multijet Diesel... the last time FIAT stickered a car with FIRE(Fully Integrated Robotized Engine, for the uninitiated) on it was the record breaking UNO.
And each mill comes in 3 variants - Active, Dynamic &amp; Emotion, with the latter 2 coming with additional packages.
Since I test drove only the top end FIAT Linea Emotion Pack Diesel, I have been over the world, if there was one car I intended to buy @ less than 10 lakhs, I would choose only the Linea... think about it ABS, Airbags, Blue &amp; Me, 15 feet of car, 500lts boot, all the frills and fancies of a premium segment car like - rear AC, Rear Seat handrest, the FANCY MY CAR 1 &amp; MY CAR 2 package are awesome.
Diesel mill of 90bhp and you have a car which can compete with the CIVIC for a CITY price, and its DIESEL !!!!
I cant think about a car which offers soo much for only 9.6Lakhs.
The claimed Fuel efficiency by the Company is 16kmpl for the 1.3 Multijet diesel - wonderful for a car this size.
Though it is longer than the CIVIC, the Linea has a much shorter wheelbase than it, so it should be a breeze over most BAD roads.
To end this review all I can say is - with the Linea you have a diesel car with the features and size of a CIVIC at the cost of a CITY !!!
The competition Linea has been drawn, and FIAT have got a winner in their stable !!!

I just upgraded myself from my good faithful maruti Esteem to the Grand Looking FIAT LINEA Diesel. I gifted myself with at LINEA Diesel Dynamic model, Flamenco Red Color.
Well a frank feedback, I have completed about 400km of driving and the car is quite clean and comfy. The interiors are very roomy with oodles of space all over and the car has a boot of 500lts, which allows you to throw in anything for a long family drive. The seats are ergo designed for long drives and can seat three BIG adults very comfortably. The leg space in the rear seating is damn good (better than the Indigo XL).
The Dynamic is the Mid variant with just basic interiors (no ABS and Airbags or the Blue n Me) but it has good enough to keep you happy. It has a full feature My CAR feature that give you warning for doors, seatbelts, mileage, distance to empty, distance covered, service due etc; which is very very neat.
What also added to my decision was the pleasant treatment at ConCorde Motors by the sales execsutives. Believe me TATA-FIAT is learning if not there yet. I was (and am) concerned still on the service part but I went for this car as I have seens these (Lineas and Puntos) running by the scores in all of Europe. I also pacified and gathered courage from the fact that FIAT can never get out of inda market simply because their revenues from the diesel engines itself is more than the revenues of some car manufacturers in India.
The Linea is well designed from the Inside and outside would be a subjective choice, I felt its lamborghini looks are killing. The MJD engine has been refined slightly better to deliver a higher torque and power while allowing for a decent mileage. The Difference from the Dzire and Swift starts from here. While all other FIAT engines run on a FGT (fixed Geometric Turbo), the LINEA (unlike the punto) is fired by a VGT which kicks in quite early in the rpm so that drive in the city is quite lively. Where the linea drags is on the highway as the 1.2 ton giant will take good 2-3 secs more than any other counterpart (Fiesta, City, SX4 or Optra) to gather upto 100-140KMPH. But I didnt feel I needed that much of performance. Okay, another point the VGT of LINEA delivers 95bhp at 4000rpm, which by no means is performance but it is also not bad either (the fiesta offers just 68bhp or the Dzire give 76bhp) so you still have the power at your feet and yes the lower end torque help it to beat off the biggies like the Verna and Optra, as long as we dont want to compete on the highway at 170 MPH, well honestly I dont.
The car is longer than the Skoda octavia or the VW Jetta, so lots for space and comfort for the price of a C segment car and more even with the luxury segment cars ) The linea also features a 15 inch tyre (punto runs on 14 inch) which is damn good for comfy drive. The suspensions are an absolute pleasure and takes in most potholes with a soft thud. I felt the Dzire should have better tyres for sure.
Btw, I did crack up my bumper grills a day back and I did also get the taste of spare part cost for the Linea. Can i not say that its definitely 'Expensive' the lower bumper grill alone cost 8000-, oh my god was my first take when I heard it. But that apart there is some good news too, the LINEA unlike its counterparts is schedule to service only after 15000 kms (yes, I said fifteen thousand kilometers) which is damn good for cityr driver and will bring down TCO (Total cost of Ownership).
What I did not like is the quality of fixture of the platfic panels could be much better for a car that you end up paying 8.75 lakhs. The seats are designed for large frams of 6 Fts and I am a little below that so some dissatisfcation there but that alright.
I have to still try out the milelage factor but during the run I am sure its delivered about 11-12kmpl of deisel which for a big car is decent, but my fellow owners tell me they get over 13-14 in city (interesting ) I need to wait and check this fact out).
So my advise if you are looking for a MultiJetDiesel C Segment car, buy it from the guys who made that technology rather than somebody who is leasing it ) ( just kidding). LINEA is a car for anybody who likes european appeal and thats low on maintenance. You dont have to think LINEA is a pack of mileage, low maintenance and high comfort.
For the people who are more reports oriented, the FIAT LINEA has also been the best selling car in the Segment (Fiesta, SX4, Verna, Optra and Honda City). LINEA has sold over 5000 cars since launch in Feb09 and has also won some very good awards from Autocar and Overdrive. Guess, FIAT has hit the bulls eye with LINEA and PUNTO which I think would be a comeback for the italian giant in India. I do wish them luck here.
UPDATING @ 740 KMS (14 July 2009)
I completed 700 Kms in about 2 weeks of owning the car. The vehicle is delivering me pre-service about 12-14 kmpl deisel in bangalore city with AC on, with 5 passengers. I did do about max speed of 120 enroute to Ghatti Subramanya temple on the devnahalli road, car is pretty stable and soaks up the ride comfortably.
TATA-FIAT Service Experience
Guys I have another cheer point for Concorde Motors, Dairy Circle, Bangalore. I have been offered decently good service on my two pre-service visits. One, I had a faulty wiper blade which needed replacement, they did it without any frowns. Two, Music system fitment which was done withing 1 hour of waiting at the lounge.
Honestly, I should say these guys are learning (I did find on senior supervisor at the service floor is an ex-maruti personnel) from the maruti team. Service seems to be getting better. The service guys greet you and genuinely hear out your problem before opening the job card. Option of quick service bay for short responses, which is good.
Though they service the Linea at mysore road and chikkabegur shop floors, they have arranged for a service on appointement at the dairy circle shop floor, which is easier now.
UPDATING @ 1500KMS (18 AUG 2009)
Guys! I am excited to come back and update, I clocked half of the first service run, absolutely no problems. I filled up nitrogen in the tyres and the drive has just got even better.
The run so far has been great with no teething issues other than what I wrote above, havent been to the service centre in the last 1000+ kms run up.
mileage read has been good so far fill-fill has improved and I am clocking 14+ in bangalore city conditions with AC on. So far, absolutely not complaints and issues.
write back to you after the first service @ 3000 kms, expect to do this end of next month. cheers till then.

I SAW THIS ON DELHI ROAD IN MAROON,REAL HEAD TURNER.QUCIKLY GONE TO DEALER DRIVE DIESEL EMOTION PK.AS I MENTION GREAT LOOKS,GREAT FEATURES LIKE ABS,AIR BAGS,BLUE &amp; ME (MUST FOR DELHIST).
ENGINE 1.3 LTRS WITH 86PS,203NM TORQUE.CC MISLEADS U BUT DONT GO ON FIGURES CAN MISLEADS. REALLY COMFORTABLE WITH GOOD PICKUP IN CITY.SPACE IS GOOD IN THE CAR SPEACIALLY COMPARE WITH NEW HONDA WHERE I COULDNT FIND THE HEAD ROOM AS MY TURBAN WAS STICKING.
ONLY WORRY IS TATA-FIAT SERVICE.CAN I PUT MY 8.5LAC BUCKS ON THEM WITHOUT WORRY.

I saw a Linea and was dramatically serious to buy one. For the last couple of months, I have been looking at reviews for all Diesel cars amd test driven lots of them. Once tested Linea, I jumped up and bought the Emotion model and am quite happy with it. Its a real head turner. Just one draw back for the classy car is its a bit underpowered at 1200 (something)C.C

hi i saw this car and was blown away by the looks but the minute i stepped inside the excitement was gone poor plastics horrible pick up not much space in the rear not convinced at all wont work in india this car